The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-12-09
PAYING THEIR DEBTS.

ing to advantage his tall, muscular ng-
ure, and a broad straw hat shaded a
handsome face, with large dark eyes
set beneath a forehead whose breadth
and height indicated powerful BRAIN
The hands that guided the plough
were strong hands, but winter and
more delicate than such pursuits usu-
ally allow.
Daisy Hale sat watching him. Her
dress was print, but made with
Aounces on the skirt, and ruffies on
the waist. Her short golden hair
was curled into a fringe carefully over
her forehead. and gathered in longer
curls into a comb behind, above
which was a very jaunty hat, covered
with puffs OF white muslin and bows
of blue ribbon to match the spots up
on her dress.
The face under Daisy's hat was
gloomy, not to say cross. A very
pretty face, but not pleasant, having
a petted, spoiled.child frown, and q
brooding discomfort in the large blue
eyes.
Presently the farmer drew near her,
and taking off his hat, famed himself
with it, stopping his horses while he
leaned indolently against the plough.
"You look deliciously cool under
this great tree" he said. "And-hem!
very much dressed for nine o'clock in
the morning."
"In a fvepenny Calico" she said,
contemptuously. when are you
coming in?"
cat noon, to dinner"
at is too absurd" she broke out,
angry tears in her eyes, 'for you to
be ploughing, and hoeing, and milking
COWS, and doing the work of g. labor
ing man! / thought when you came
home from college you would do
something besides work on a farm"
"And let the farm 60 to ruin. That
would be a poor way to pay my
debts"
"Your debts!" she said, looking as.
tonished. "Do you owe debts?"
certainly! Youand l are both very
heavily in debt, Daisy. / think when
Aunt Mary took us in, poor little or
phans, | her nephew, you heI second
cousin"
Third cousin" she interrupted,
"since you are so particular. I know
what you mean, but / am very sure
hat Aunt Mary never intended us to
rudge on the horrid old farm!'
do you know that all the money
she saved in a life of hard work was
spent upon our education? Do you
know that she has nothing now but
the farm, and that to take her away
from it would probably shorten her
life2" " -
"she always has taken care OF it
herself" .s
care you blind that you cannot see
how the four years she has been alone
have aged her. how feeble she is2
While we were living at ease at college
and school, she has toiled for us until
she is wearied out"
"But you could send her money, if
you were in the city in some gentle
manly occupation"
perhaps so, ten or twelve years
fromnow, To-day, l propose to work
this farm, and see how many bushels
of corr / q rates oil itI''
He took hold of the plough handles
as he spoke, started the horses, and
left her, her eyes full of angry tears.
HE might as we'll have said what
he meant" she thought, springing
down and starting for the house.
HE thinks | ought to cook, and
wash, and make butter, and work
like q s~ervant-girl, when | have
studied so hard and tried to make
myself q lady, that he might not be
Sshamed of me-"
and yet, in her heart, she knewthat
he was ashamed of her, and that she
deserved 1T. Ashamed that she could
sit in her room, selfshly engrossed in
making pretty articles Of dress, or
reading, while b4r cousin, or, as she,
too, called her Aunty Mary, worked in
the kitchen. the dairy, the poultry
yard, from days dawn till night.
She was not all ~selfishness and
heartlessness, though there has grown
a thick crust OF both over her better
nature. Her ideas of ladies and gen
tlemen depended largely upon cloth
ing and pursuit, and she had not yet
quite realized how much more nearly
Johns standard reached the desired
point than her own.
AS she drew near the house the
sting OF Johns words penetrated
more and more through the
crust she had drawn over her
heart, until a fresh stab met her ct the
door. Looking in at the open door,
she saw q white head bowed in e
ing. a slight figure shaken by sobs.
Quickly through all the ~selfshness,
self-reproach struck at the girls
heart, and in a moment she was on
her knees beside the low chair, her
arm around the weeping woman.
6Oh. Aunt Mary. what Ia it9 oh